She moved her shoulders. “Oh, and as for Mike, you bring him, of course.”

“Bring a dog to New York?”

“Sure, my sister’s kids will love it.”

He felt as though he were sitting in a box and she was slowly closing the lid. “Kate, it’s just not the kind of thing people like me do. Flying off to New York for the weekend.”

“It’s not a flight to Mars, O’Connell.” Laughing she leaned over and kissed him. “It’s a little adventure. Jack’ll love it—and…” She’d saved the coup de grâce, as any good general. “He’ll be able to give his pal Rod a little back for all the bragging about Disney World. Jack’ll see where King Kong fell to his tragic death.”

It hit the mark and had Brody struggling not to squirm. Forget the box, he thought. Now he felt like a fish with a hook firmly lodged in his mouth. “Don’t take this the wrong way, okay? But I’m really not into ballet.”

“Oh.” She smiled, fluttered her lashes. “Which ones have you seen?”

“I haven’t seen a public hanging, either, but I don’t think I’d get much of a charge out of it.”

“Think of it this way. You’ll be able to give Jack his first look at New York. You’ll have two days to enjoy yourself and only about two hours to be bored senseless. Not a bad deal. You’ve never seen me dance,” she added, linking her fingers with his. “I’d like you to.”

He frowned at the tickets, shook his head. “Hit all the angles, didn’t you?”

“I don’t think I missed any. Is it a deal?”

“Wait till Jack hears he’s going to take his first plane trip. He’ll flip.”

He did more than flip. By the time they were shuffling onto the plane on Friday afternoon, he was all but turning himself inside out.

“Dad? Can’t you ask if Mike can ride up with us? He’s going to be scared in that box.”

“Jack, I told you it’s not allowed. He’ll be fine, I promise. Remember he’s got his toys, and now those other two dogs are riding in the dog seats with him.”

“Yeah. I guess.” Jack’s eyes were huge with wonder, excitement and trepidation as they stepped through the doorway and onto the plane. “Look,” he said in a desperate whisper. “There’s the pilot guys.”

The flight attendant clued in instantly. Jack was treated to a tour of the cockpit and given a pair of plastic wings. By the time they were preparing for takeoff, he’d decided to be an airline pilot.

For the next fifty minutes, he peppered his father with questions, often with his face pressed up to the window. Brody’s ears were ringing by the time they touched down, but he had to admit, Jack was having the time of his life.

Now all he had to do was get through the next couple of days—outnumbered by Kate’s family. If that wasn’t enough to give a guy a headache, there was always the ballet.